We are back in Rio Dulce after spending Thursday night and Friday in Tikal. It felt good to "get away from it all" in the jungle in Tikal. We are patiently waiting for the judicial system to allow Nancy to make a declaration for the case to get under way. It seems like the defense is trying to stall long enough for us to get frustrated and go home. Sorry hombre, we're in it for the long haul.
So now the time frame is pushed to the end of this coming week. We'll see what else they have up their sleeves to delay us some more. Maybe we could delay things for two months, go home, and come back to continue with the "case." We'll see what options we have.
Back to positive things, Tikal was wonderful. The preservation/restoration of the ruins has been done very well (in my opinion). They have built wooden stairs/ladders to climb to the top of the structures (we're not allowed to climb the steep stairs anymore because of other tourists falling to their death while ascending/descending the steep stone paths.) Some of the "pyramids" have been excavated from under the 1500 or so years of detritus that collected in the jungle. Other "pyramids" have been left covered to show how the "discovery" looked 150 or so years ago (and the fact that excavation takes a really long time and lots of money).
We were serenaded by howler monkeys and other creatures of the jungle. Spider monkeys swung from branch to branch munching on fruits of their labor. Leaps of faith were witnessed frequently and I must say that spider monkeys must have a lot of religion. Speaking of spiders, there are many down here, and they are BIG! There is one that I have not identified yet, but imagine a 6-8" leg sprawl (spindly legs) with the body of a scorpion (minus the stinger) and small claws similar to a scorpion. It moves with lightning speed and we only found it within dark caves in tight spaces. I really had to work on my nerves crawling past these buggers on my hands and knees while they crept silently only inches from my head. Nancy and I explored an excavated cave (hands and knees) and Jessica "guarded" the entrance. About 20m in we rounded a corner (past the many creepy crawlies) to come upon a nice family of bats. Their sleep was interrupted by my headlamp and they came over to greet us in the 4' diameter tunnel. Well, I'm not a fan of bats banging into my face so I turned around and "suggested" Nancy and I move back out. Nancy witnessed the bats hovering over my head as I ushered her quickly out of the cave. I guess I still need to work on my social skills while in a bat's home. How rude of me to leave without saying "Hello."
We drove back to Rio Dulce to finish our duties here. We will be putting tarps (ordered from Guat City) on the boat today and we should be done with boat storage requirements after that. We will have another week on our hands and we still have not decided how we will spend it.
Case Note: The two brothers arrested in association with the assault had a third brother that has been "missing" since the day after the attack. Curious. I'll let your mind stew on that one.
To leave on a positive note, we love you all and are looking forward to coming home. Right now there is a *tentative* date of Oct 4th or 5th for a memorial service in Alaska (another memorial is anticipated in NY at a much later date). We'll keep you updated on that progression. Hopefully we'll be home by then!
Peace and Love
Brian, Nancy, and Jessica
